Anthropic, the AI company known for its generative AI technology called Claude, has hired Mike Krieger, the co-founder of Instagram and Artifact, as its first Chief Product Officer (CPO). Krieger will be responsible for overseeing product engineering, management, and design efforts, as well as expanding Anthropic’s suite of AI apps and bringing Claude to a wider audience.
Krieger expressed his excitement about joining Anthropic and working with the team to design and scale transformative products like Claude. He believes in the potential of AI to positively impact the world and sees Anthropic as having the talent, principles, and technology to realize that potential.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei praised Krieger’s engineering skills, leadership abilities, and background in developing intuitive products and user experiences. Amodei believes Krieger’s expertise will be invaluable in creating new ways for people to interact with Claude, particularly in the workplace.
Krieger’s appointment comes after he and Kevin Systrom, co-founder of Instagram, left the company in 2018. They went on to launch Artifact in January 2023, a personalized news app aimed at developing recommender systems for news articles, topics, and authors. In April, Yahoo! acquired Artifact, and Krieger continued working in an advisory capacity until now.
The timing of Krieger’s hire is interesting, as it follows recent developments in the AI chatbot space. OpenAI showcased a more conversational and polished experience for its ChatGPT platform, while Google previewed major upgrades to its Gemini chatbot technology at its developer conference. It appears that Anthropic is also targeting the consumer market aggressively and believes that Krieger is the right person to help them achieve that goal.
Overall, Krieger’s appointment as CPO of Anthropic signifies the company’s commitment to expanding its suite of AI apps and making Claude accessible to a wider audience. With Krieger’s background and expertise, Anthropic is well-positioned to design innovative products that empower humans and harness the potential of AI for positive impact.